"A few years ago, an extremely sick, 2�-year-old boy came to the Houston office of pediatrician Ray Wagner, MD, with a 105-degree temperature. The illness, which required five days of hospitalization and a course of intravenous antibiotics, got its start in an infected tooth; which, in turn, resulted from poor dental hygiene and a lack of dental care. Dr. Wagner, who was then an assistant professor at the University of Texas Medical School, decided to use this case as a hook for an educational session on oral health.

'We discovered that early childhood caries [tooth decay] was the most common chronic disease of children,' he said. 'We were all shocked.'"